An exhibit dedicated to the Polish cryptologists who broke the Enigma on display in the Elihu Burritt Library until November 15, 2016

The exhibit tells the story of the contribution that Polish mathematicians made to braking the Enigma code, Germany’s highly sophisticated cipher used for sending classified messages. Their names are: Jerzy Rozycki, Henryk Zygalski and Marian Rejewski. The Enigma code was generated by a machine invented by a German scientist at the end of WWI. Several countries had teams working to try to break the code, but they had met with little success. It wasn’t until the three Polish mathematicians joined the Polish General Staff’s Cipher Bureau in Warsaw in the early 1920’s that progress was made. Later, in early 1939, two British codebreakers from Bletchley Park, Alastair Denniston and Dilly Knox, met with members of the Polish Cipher Bureau at a secret facility near Warsaw to share information about the Enigma code. In addition, theoretical mathematician Alan Turing, also from Bletchley Park, met with the Polish codebreakers. Their collaboration led to the development of a machine capable of breaking the more complex codes used by Germans during WWII.

The Elihu Burritt Library is celebrating the Ebenezer D. Bassett Day with a display of archival materials and other publications related to Ebenezer D. Bassett, the first African American student who attended New Britain Normal School (presently CCSU) in 1852-1853.

The display is available for viewing on the 3rd floor during the library’s opening hours.

This year the Bassett Day celebration, organized by the Ebenezer D. Bassett Committee, will take place on Monday October 17, from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. in Bellin Gallery, Student Center.

Our annual Trick-or-Treat e-resource fair is back!

Join us on the first floor on October 25th from 1-4 p.m. for prizes and candy!! Burritt Librarians will be available for short (5 minutes or less) demonstrations. For each demonstration, you will receive a raffle ticket. You can get up to 8 raffle tickets for a chance to win a brand new Kindle Fire!

Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 1) is an annual event celebrating our freedom to read without censorship. This week, we’ll be emphasizing the need for free and open access of information and commemorating several works, including Gone with the Wind, Slaughterhouse-Five, To Kill a Mockingbird, and even the Harry Potter series, that have been banned in the U.S.

Thanks to the hard work of library staff, instructors, students, and community members, many of these works and others on display on the first floor of the Burritt Library have remained accessible to the public and inspired critical dialogue on what it means to be human.

Any of the books featured in the Banned Books Week display can be borrowed! If you would like to borrow any of the books in the display case, please see the staff member at the Circulation Desk for assistance.

For more information about Banned Books Week as well as lists of banned and challenged books throughout history, please visit the American Library Association Banned Books Week webpage at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek.

The Burritt Library will be hosting their 2nd annual Ice Cream Breaker on the first floor of the library next Tuesday the 27th from 2-3:30pm.

New and returning students can find out information on what services the library offers and how to use them via short demonstrations. After the demos get your ice cream cup and enter the raffle for some great prizes. Here’s how it works:

For each demo you attend you will receive a raffle ticket so you can enter for prizes. Raffle prizes will be drawn at 3:30 (you do not need to present to win).